Businesses take to the cloud
Fact: by 2016, cloud computing has become a £120 billion industry. The statistic may sound both exaggerated and astonishing, but reflects the truth and a trend in business operations. Why are more businesses adopting the cloud as opposed to a physical IT environment? First off, whether using a desktop, laptop, smartphone, or tablet, the cloud provides instant access to data at any time. All you need is an internet connection.
Besides convenience, cloud computing offers a myriad of additional benefits. Benefits include:
- scalable storage for data, files, and applications
- enhanced user collaboration regardless of location
- eliminating the need for a data centre and the IT engineers required to manage it
- significant savings in terms of time and money
Cloud computing simplified
Put simply, cloud computing is the offsite storage of your data, files, and applications. As mentioned, by moving to the cloud, your small to medium-sized business (SMB) will experience a marked financial benefit. The reason for this is straightforward: Your cloud provider pays for all the hardware and support costs needed to store, manage and maintain your data.
Besides the monetary gain, cloud computing provides your employees access to data from anywhere that they are able to connect to the internet. In the highly competitive and evolving business world of today, it is critical that SMB executives get what they need and when they need it. With the cloud, you can access, share and collaborate from your workstation or on a train using a mobile phone. Whether you’re in the office or not, cloud computing means you have the convenience of 24/7 network access.
Types of cloud services
There are a variety of cloud computing services which can be tailored and scaled to meet the specific IT needs of your SMB. In layman’s terms these services are:
- cloud storage which stores your files for regular access and enables sharing and syncing across devices
- cloud backup is a regularly scheduled backup of data and applications in the event of a crash, cyberattack or another catastrophe
- cloud hosting which facilitates a range of information sharing services such as email, application hosting, data storage and web-based phone systems such as VoIP
- Software as a Service (SaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS)
The difference between SaaS, PaaS and IaaS
Collectively, you and your SMB executives have made the decision to migrate to cloud services for your data storage, applications or IT infrastructure deployment. Before making the move, it’s essential to understand the differences between the core categories of cloud services available for your company. There are three fundamental models that underpin cloud procurement: SaaS, PaaS and IaaS.
SaaS
SaaS is not dissimilar from the thin-client model of software provision, where clients, in this case, web browsers, provide the point of access to software operating from servers. You can see SaaS as moving the task of managing software and its deployment to third-party services. SaaS uses the web to provide familiar applications including productivity software suites such as Google Apps and Office 365, and storage solutions such as Dropbox.
Using SaaS applications reduces the cost of software ownership by removing the need for engineers to install, manage and upgrade software. Plus there’s an added bonus of a reduction in the cost of licensing software. SaaS applications usually operate on a subscription basis
PaaS
PaaS operates at a lower level than SaaS. As the name implies, PaaS provides a platform on which software can be developed and deployed. PaaS uses virtualisation technology to manage your server software and hardware, operating systems and IT infrastructure. Your SMB can then focus on the business side of scalability and the application development of your products and services. An example of a popular PaaS provider is Google App Engine.
IaaS
IaaS is a fundamental building block of cloud services. IaaS is comprised of automated and scalable compute resources such as a host, host cluster or virtual datacentre. The compute resources for Amazon AWS is Amazon region, for example. The compute resources are complemented by cloud storage and network capability which can be self-provisioned, metered and is available on demand.
IaaS means that you can access cloud servers and their associated resources via a dashboard or an Application Programming Interface (API). Most large companies utilise APIs for internal use and to serve their customers and clients. There are several advantages to using IaaS. You are able to outsource and construct a virtual data centre in the cloud. You will have access to the same technologies and resource capabilities of a traditional data centre without needing to invest in its management and maintenance.
IaaS is undoubtedly the most flexible cloud computing model. With IaaS your IT engineers have true control over your network compared to using only SaaS or PaaS. In fact, the main uses of IaaS include the development and deployment of SaaS and PaaS. IaaS providers include Microsoft Azure, Google Compute Engine and IBM SmartCloud Enterprise. They will offer normalised access to more than 20 cloud providers using a single API. Using this systematic approach, your IT department can compare price and performance across providers and determine the ‘best fit’ solution for your SMB without getting locked into just one platform.
SMBs think they can’t compete with the big guys
Ask the owner of any SMB this question: What is the main factor holding back their business and preventing you from competing with corporations? Their response is likely to be that they don’t have the capital to create the infrastructure that would make them viable as competitors. SMBs are generally too small to enjoy economies of scale. From an IT perspective, this applies directly to the cost of software and hardware. If you are honest with yourself, you realise that the technology used by big businesses is out of reach for your SMB. Research also confirms that most SMBs possess neither the budget nor internal resources to own an IT infrastructure that meets needs and demands. Put simply, the typical small business doesn’t have the money to spend on equipment.
Consider the simple example of somebody that owns a storefront and who thinks that they can increase revenue by selling online. All very well, but how much will they sell and within what period of time? The storefront owner will be unlikely to justify expenditure on hardware, software plus the labour to design, build and maintain e-commerce IT infrastructure. The price to enter the online world seems too high.
The cloud lets you compete
From your understanding of what cloud computing and virtualisation technologies offer, you should realise that the storefront owner is being over-cautious. Using the cloud, they will be able to ‘rent’ as little or as much infrastructure as needed. As their online business grows, there will be an incremental increase in the size of their virtual technology environment. An added bonus is that the storefront owner only pays for what they use.
The cloud is the ultimate equaliser for SMBs wanting to increase productivity and profitability. Essentially, the cloud significantly reduces the high cost of entry into the online world. Accessing the cloud means that you become noteworthy competitive in a similar league as the big players in your industry.
How safe is the cloud?
While many SMBs see the apparent advantages of migrating their IT infrastructure to the cloud, they have security and safety concerns over their data and network. So how safe is the cloud? While established and reputable cloud providers enforce the latest security measures to protect the data and systems of their users, some say that a completely safe cloud environment is non-existent. Before running headlong into the cloud, it might be wise to consider a few typical concerns reflected by those who are not in favour of the cloud.
Whose data is it?
Unquestionably, it’s your data. However, unlike an on-site data centre managed by your IT department, the cloud is an off-premise system and you have effectively outsourced your data needs to a third-party provider. In essence, you are trusting somebody else to look after your data. Steve Santorelli, a former Scotland Yard detective, and now a manager of an internet security research company has this to say about the cloud:
“The downside is that you are abrogating responsibility for your data. Someone else has access to it and someone else is responsible for keeping it safe. No business is ever going to be as rabid about looking after your data as you would or should be. They are in the business of making money from you, after all. Securing your data sometimes becomes a marketing mantra more than a way of life.”
Cyberattack
Cyber attacks are becoming increasingly prevalent in our technology-driven world, with hackers becoming smarter and more cunning. Whenever you store data via the internet, you are at risk of a cyber attack. Cybercrime is particularly problematic with the cloud, where volumes of data are stored by a wide range of users on the same, remote system. The concentration of so much data increases the vulnerability to Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. Santorelli says this of the cloud and cyber attacks:
“The single point of failure is the cloud. If something goes bad it impacts a very wide group of people. It’s easier to steal and disrupt in bulk.”
You can take comfort knowing that reliable cloud providers will apply the most stringent security measures. However, as technology becomes more sophisticated, so do cyber attacks. For instance, instead of hacking the cloud, cybercriminals will attempt to hack your account by accessing your passwords. Password breach is still a major contributor to successful hacking as confirmed by Santorelli:
“Passwords and secret answers become the soft underbelly of your security. Just like when banks made online account hacking harder, the miscreants turned to phishing to get around the restrictions and steal your passwords.”
Insider breach
While cyber attacks constitute a potential threat to your data and IT infrastructure integrity, so do security breaches within your own company. Eric Chiu, the president of HyTrust, a Californian cloud infrastructure control company, reflects on two major breaches stemming from insider abuse:
“Vodafone’s breach of 2 million customer records and the Edward Snowden breach at the NSA are wake-up calls that the most serious breaches are due to insider threats and privileged user access.”
The thing is that once an employee gains or provides others with access to your cloud network, everything, including customer data, confidential information and files, and intellectual property are at risk of being stolen. Without being alarmist, read what Chiu says about the dangers of insider access to your cloud environment:
“Administrative access to the cloud management platform, either by an employee or an attacker posing as an employee, enables access to copy and steal any virtual machine, undetected,
as well as potentially destroy the entire cloud environment in a matter of minutes.”
Legal risk
If sensitive client data is compromised in the cloud, the situation can have long-lasting ramifications, particularly in terms of legal liability. Research confirms that both data breaches and accompanying lawsuits are on the rise. Businesses using the cloud consistently face risks relating to data compliance, business continuity and litigation. Robert J. Scott, a leading intellectual property and technology lawyer from Scott & Scott, New York, believes that the benefits of the cloud such as ease of access and collaboration must be weighed again the level of applied security. Scott says:
“Information security has always been finding a balance between ease of access and the sharing of information versus completely locked down security,” he said. “The more you have of one, the less you have of the other.”
The cloud: it depends on your business
Nobody truly knows what tomorrow will bring and that holds true for the security of cloud computing systems. Hackers aren’t going away any day soon. With the new threats happening almost daily in the form of malware and ransomware attacks, the security and protection of business data become more than a priority.
Neil Rerup, author of the book ‘Cyber Peril’ concludes that whether or not you opt for the cloud depends on the nature of your business:
“The cloud is not for everyone. Like with all solutions, you have to weigh what level of risk you are comfortable dealing with. Using cloud solutions is like kissing someone you don’t know — you don’t know what types of germs they have and whether you’ll catch something from them.”
To migrate or not?
That’s really up to you. The cloud does provide unprecedented rapidity, ease of access and effective file sharing and collaboration opportunities. However, you are now also well aware of the risks associated with migration and having your data and network remotely managed. The best you can do is to be proactive and as thoroughly prepared as you can.
Your local Managed Service Provider (MSP) will assist in this preparation. The MSP, having gained expertise and world-class knowledge by working with a broad spectrum of clients, will support you in finding the best cloud solution for your SMB. Moreover, the outsourced MSP together with your in-house IT team can deliver a tailored cloud package, whether it be SaaS, PaaS or IaaS. From an end-user perspective, both employees and your clients, you can construct the best cloud computing model for your company. A model that promotes sustained profitability, while at the same time protecting your critical data and preserving your IT infrastructure.
